Dr. Arthur L. Boland: This was the first Massachusetts General Hospital admission for a 21-year-old college student who had a history of being involved in a car accident eight days before admission.
The patient allegedly was thrown against the roof of a car in an accident and had been taken to a local hospital. Roentgenograms at the time of his admission were interpreted as normal. However, because of persistent neck pain with radiation to the top of the right shoulder and mid arm, the x-ray films were reevaluated and a fracture was noted. He was then transferred here for further care.
There were no symptoms of numbness, tingling, or paresthesias. He gave no history of loss of consciousness or of injury other than to his neck. Medical history was noncontributory.
Physical examination at the time of admission revealed a blood pressure of 120/80 mm Hg, pulse rate of 80 beats